Christmas Week

I can't believe it is almost Christmas! I am slowly but surely marking things off my to-do list. We have had a fun filled week so far, and it really is just beginning. Here is a little rundown of what we've accomplished so far.

We finally sent out our family Christmas cards.  This year I was so on top of the game, we took pictures on the last warm day of the year and ordered them from Simply to Impress on Cyber Monday.  They had the BEST choices.  I always felt so limited with Shutterfly and those other sites, definitely check out Simply to Impress next year.  

Every year, I love receiving Christmas cards.  I always hang them on a garland on our banister with clothes pins.  It is such a fun way to display them.  Fiona also love looking at all her friends. 

Fiona had her Christmas dance recital this past weekend.  We were SO proud! I wasn't sure how she would do.  She can be very shy, especially in front of a bunch of strangers, but she rallied and did a great job.  They danced to The Hippopotamus Song, and I could barely keep the tears in! She informed us as we were driving to the show, that she was going to leap during the dance (there wasn't supposed to be a leap).  She did the leap and I almost busted out laughing.    

We have made cookies and currently I am watching my favorite Christmas Movie, White Christmas. 

 Two more days until Christmas! I hope you have all finished your Christmas to-do lists! 

Also... Happy 3 Months to our sweet Evie Girl! 

Merry almost Christmas! 

Our Big Christmas Photo Dump

Hello, everyone! We are getting back into the swing of things, and I am finally getting around to looking/editing our pictures from our Christmas break.  We had such a great time with our families, we didn't want it to end.  Here is a little look into our Christmas!

Reading The Night Before Christmas with the grandparents

Opening presents!

Hanging with cousins!

Canes game with the family!

Parents watch the kiddos on New Years- we get to play! 

Happy New Year! We have some big things in the works! So stay tuned!!

Halloween in Review

I have been so busy this past month with the new studio and Scott's Landscaping business (not to mention sweet little Fi), I am going to do a post on all things Halloween.

The week before Halloween, Fi and I met Scott out at the NC State Farmer's market to pick up some flowers for his business and pumpkins for Halloween.

She is still kind of young to understand all the fun that goes along with holidays, but she sure did love carrying around her little pumpkin!

Later in the weekend, we went to a Fall Fest with some friends that moved away from Raleigh.  It was so fun catching up and watching the kids play together.

And these two.  If they do get married, they will have the best wedding slide show ever! 

And for Halloween, Fi went as an Owl.  I made the costume, so it turned out a little too big for her, but it worked! She actually loved wearing the mask (which I just knew she would throw a fit about).

She took her job very seriously and made sure no candy was left behind!

 Hope you all had a wonderful Halloween! 

New studio update

Hello again! We are finally seeing the light, after spending countless hours/evenings/days/years in the new Studio.  (drumrollllll) We are officially OPEN! Everything is not complete. But the floors, are done, mirrors are up, walls are painted and I have already held my first week of classes there.  It is really something, dreaming all your life about opening a studio, and seeing that dream become a reality.  It has not been easy, at all.  But it feels so great to have it open and working! I really couldn't have done it without the help of my husband and parents.  They have been work horses through it all! 

Here are a few pictures I snapped during the work progress.  I'll try to take some this weekend of it complete.  I guess that's if it gets completed! 

I love this one of Fiona.  She is crazy about running around and dancing in the studio.  

First class held last Thursday! Happy Dancers!!

If you are in the Raleigh area and are interested in Ballet, Tap, Jazz or Scottish Highland. Check out our website at www.raleighscottishdance.com

Exciting news!

Hello again! Sorry for all the radio silence again! We have been some busy bees over here in the Bartow household. 

 The biggest and most exciting news we have to share, is that I am opening a dance studio next month.  I couldn't be more excited or more nervous! It is such a big step, but we decided to make the jump and give it a real try.  I'll be posting updates as the month goes along before we officially open in September.

 

 So, if you are in the Raleigh/ Triangle area and are looking for all levels of Scottish Dance, Mommy and Me Classes, Ballet, Jazz and Barre Fusion, you have found your spot.  Keep a look out for Erin Bartow's Highland Dancers!

A Water Weekend

For those of you who follow me on instagram (edmcdoug), I'm sure you noticed we spent the weekend cooling off by the lake and by the pool.  Some friends of our, graciously invited us to their lake house on Saturday, and even though it rained a little on and off during the day, we had a blast!  

We all played in the sand, floated in the water, went on boat and jet ski rides, and even tried some paddle boarding.

Fiona is so chill (most of the time). While I paddled around in the little lagoon, she just sat there and enjoyed the ride. Roxy, on the other hand was super stressed about her girls being so far away.  She actually jumped off the dock and swam to us, poor thing. 

Mr. P was in hog heaven, cooling off in the water, when he wasn't chasing the other dogs. 

Sunday, we all slept in, had a lazy morning, worked in the garden (more on that later), went for a walk, hung by the pool and grabbed our favorite Mexican food with some friends.

Happy Monday, Friends and here's to a four day work week!

Farewell

This past weekend has been very difficult for my family.  I've been on the fence about posting anything about this, but decided to do short post. One of my goals for this year, was to try and focus more on the good in my life, instead of to dwell on the negative.  I feel, especially with Facebook, it has become this platform for rants and complaints.  I wanted my little place in the internet to be light and happy.  But life isn't always light and happy.

Today, my brother, sister-in-law and niece move up to Philly.  It's not by choice, but for a job relocation.  Everyone is super sad about this. If that wasn't enough of a reminder that life just isn't always how we plan it, we had a medical scar in our close immediate family over the weekend, that showed me just how quickly things can change.  Thankfully, things are looking so much brighter today.  But I'll tell you, if there was one thing that I took away from this weekend, its that my family is awesome! We love each other dearly and will always be there for each other.  So take a moment and tell the people you love how much they mean to you, you never know when the chance may be taken from you. 

My mom wanted some photos taken of the girls before they all left, and let me tell you- taking pictures of a 1 and 5 year old can be a little difficult, but these babes did great.  Here are some of our favorites. 

 

 

 

A, J and E- We will miss you terribly, Philly is so lucky to get you!